News of Sir Ridley Scott signing on to direct a new Blade Runner project has got to be the most exciting movie news ive heard in a very long time, as im sure most of you do

Although it is very early and so many things can go wrong from now to potential start of filming, its fascinating to think of possible storyline and filming scenerios. The key thing about all this is that Scott is at the helm, his contribution to the feel and detail of the original is crucial for any credible revisit.

Personally, i cant find anything in the Jeter books that warrants a revisit on film and i cant think of a hook to take us back to 2019 LA. Indulge me in speaking for Sir Ridley for a second, " Theres no reason to take the audience back to LA, we know its overcrowded, filthy, corrupt, and utterly fascinating but i think we got it right with what we had at the time. I want to take them, the audience, to a place they have only dreamed about, offworld".

That would be the dream scenario for me as a new take on LA would be great, but the colonies were always teased enough to make me wonder much more about them. A back story involving Roy Batty and the other four replicants would be a practicle way to take us there and their story has all the elements of a stand alone feature. The "love" story between Batty and Pris and Leon and Zhora etc. As in any early colony the rule of law is not as deeply entrenched, it would be like the wild west out there. This storyline would also take us back to LA briefly and would allow for a full CGI super beauty shot of LA, Gladiator style as they enter Rome how cool would that look?

Would Ridley go down the path of using fresh actors to play already established characters? Why not? I think that the new Mad Max movie should have been the backstory of what happened between 1 and 2, it actually should have been the storyline for 3 but thats another topic and im completely comfortable with new actors playing the roles. I think the role of reprising Roy Batty would be the most sought after gig in the last twenty years. The only original characters that could be brought back in a practicle sense is Chew and J.F and being involved in Roys creation is another hook to that storyline

Anyway, the possibilities are endless and all very exciting now the great mans back in the chair, what other storylines are out there? what do you think? Promise i wont be dismissive._________________Formerly offworld66

Well Tim, here's my liking (and 2 cents): The OffWorld part of BR were never a big attraction for me; as a matter of fact, I never once thought about it while watching the movie. I know that after viewing it and being part of Propsummit for a number of years the OffWorld concept has popped up quite a few times in discussion and possible story lines.
I think that L.A. 2019 is still an interesting place to be (story wise and visually also) and can be populated by new characters as mysterious and believable as the ones we know already.

Sure, J.F. Sebastian, Tyrell, Chew and others can make an appearance in the "prequel" or whatever Ridley wants to do but it would be fun to see the begining of the "Blade Runner" squad and Deckard and Gaff, etc...
The first replicant batch, the introduction of the V.K. test and maybe a glimpse of the life of a Rep in the OffWorld colonies and why they feel the need to return to Earth...

Nice J, now were at the table with the pads and pens, why wait for the real writers

From the second i saw the blimp and heard the spruking vioce over i was hooked and nearly every line of Battys dialog is a poetic tease of what we never see but can only imagine.
Where is this place? the solar system? who if any is the authority there? did we make it to the stars but just let the planet die? I gots to know.

OK hows this, The one basic requirement to being more human than human is the ability to reproduce, Deckard and Racheal not only have an extended life span but also a functioning reproductive system._________________Formerly offworld66

Ridley already did his "Offworld" movies, they are called 'ALIEN' and 'Prometheus'

I agree that there is a ton of stuff that the first movie only touches on, that could be explored. I don't agree though that the City/LA has been exhausted as a setting though. it is like saying because you went to NYC once and drove through, you already saw it all and don't need ever go back. I Think there is still a ton of the city left to be explored. I do believe the world of BR needs to be expanded upon as well. I kind of envisioned the rest of the world outside the city to be almost 'Mad Max' like when I saw, and read about it. The colonies were also maybe explored in films like 'Total Recall' and even 'Outland' and 'ALIEN'.

I actually have been working on and outlining multiple story angles for a potential sequel fro many years now, and it seems that every time I explore new places not seen in the film, the potential for the city seems so much more dense and ripe for new visions. I already have created a plethora settings that have never before been seen in a SF film, but since I am working with someone on a script for BR as we speak, I can't say too much about them right now.

What can be said is that BR itself hints at so much more that is just under the surface, or on top of it still out of sight, and like the Film Noir anthology 'The Naked City', "There are 8 million stories in the naked city, this is (has been) one of them."...I am personally hungry to see more stories in the city created by Ridley, PK Dick, and Syd Mead. Many of these stories tell themselves. Like the idea of creating replicants that can propagate, and how they try to survive and escape detection, as an underground community.

I am afraid though of any prequel since the time frame of the film is 8 years away, any prequel would likely be set in today's time, which would be a total cop out of creating the vision of the future that makes BR so important. I kind of think maybe they should even change that BR is actually a later date than 2019, or in a kind of alternate universe ALA Watchmen. All I can say is that even with all the films that have borrowed from BR and tried to create similar worlds, none have yet gone the places I want to go, and want to see. Even if the stuff I am working on does not make it into the film, I will still try and use it for other mediums. Stay tuned.

I agree with Andy here. The Offworld scenario has been played out in many ways.
While 2019 is close, I think we as an audience are able to wrap our heads around the possibility of an alternate future. Any prequel doesn't necessarily have to tie into today's world.
When I think of the BR universe, it reminds me of Sin City. When I first read the serial in Dark Horse presents, I thought that was the definitive story for that genre. Marv was the second perfect anti-hero and when he died, the city died with him. ( in my mind) When more stories from different times in history in the same dark city arose, I wasn't the most receptive at first. As time wore on and the stories matured, I began to enjoy what the Sin City universe had to offer. I especially enjoyed seeing more of Marv who I had written off after his death in the first story line.

My point is that Ridley has created such a richly detailed universe with BR, that there may be many stories yet to be written that we can't even comprehend.
I would love to see more genre stories. I would love to see more "streets of L.A." stories.
I don't want a spoon fed Rick Deckard prequel direct tie-in. Nor do I want a direct tie-in to Roy or life before or after BR in any way. There are many stories to be told in the thick atmosphere of 2019 L.A. and they should be heard.

Sorry if I helped kill this thread man. Maybe I can share some of the stuff I have been exploring on that is a little more "obvious". I think the Story of Tyrell would almost have to be part of any "Blade Runner" related story. He is also a genius with an obvious God complex for the ability to create life. Not only can he create people using his brilliance in genetic engineering, he can also implant memories. It would be a very small step for him to desire immortality by creating replicas of himself, and installing his memories into them. It was even explored to some degree in some of the scripts and storyboards for the original film, but left out at the last moment.

Of course people would get wise to what he was up to if it seemed he was living way too long, and he then decided to make a younger version of himself. A son perhaps. Of course he would also need a place to store those memories in order implant them in each new version of himself. What if the Tyrell Pyramids were a giant computer themselves. Housing not only all of Tyrell's memories, but all of the other memories he has stored over time in an almost omnipotent AI, since he could have stored all the knowledge of all the great minds he has worked with in his field, and incorporated it into his own knowledge...just the tip of the iceberg perhaps.

This idea is pretty much a logical conclusion based on what is already in the first film. So obvious maybe that it would almost have to be a part of further stories in that world, and would be a good back story for so many more stories in that world. The posibilities are endless. The trick is making it connect to us in the same subconcious/primal level the first film does. The see new places that also hint at the larger stories throughout.

There is also a lot of other stuff in PK Dick's works that are applicable in new stories in this world. And like his work the focus should be on the human story. Especially those that make us question our humanity, and hopefully desire to be more "Human", than at least we have been. There is so much in "Posthuman" philosophy, and now "Transhumanism" that just begining to happen now. We are at a time where many people are altering themselves to become something other than what God/nature made. Very few SF films have delt with that in the way that BR can.

Still I believe the main character in the first film, was the City, and it should still have a part in any further films. The other main thing I would ask of any new film is to not make the main plot too preachy, or explanatory toward only one conclusion of these concepts, but just to touch on them enough to keep us talking about it and the film after it is over. The longevity of the first film is partially because the main story did not answer tons of questions, but instead left hints that made us ask these questions many years down the line. Some of it was by accident, but most of it was because the people working on this film were fans of SF and wanted put those ideas in the film the same way that all the hidden images were layered throughout the film. A very large chaotic, textured impasto canvass for a tragically beautiful vision of a possible future.

Um. this will be a strictly commercial venture.
What we want to see and what the production company, through the natural commercial constraints of such a venture ,give us to see are two entirely different roads.
This was never something i thought would need addressing when musing over possible storylines. The likely scenerio is that the writers are not as into this as we are, Im positive the people signing the cheques arent, will be under heavy time contraints and work under whatever hook Ridley gives them. Slavery perhaps.

One last try,
Anyone ever thought about who might organise a kick murder squad and how and why you would implement such a weapon? Was it against other Replicants? or

The Naked City has a million stories, or in BR`s case 100,000,000, i only need one, are replicants stictly a USA issue, are they under the same governing conditions in say, 2019 Tokyo, what would Ridleys version of that mega city look like?_________________Formerly offworld66

As replicants took over human's jobs in the military and private sector, the unions and vets retaliated, retiring replicants on their own which became the cause du jour among the disaffected masses.

Eventually, the Tyrell corporation took it personally and a black op department within the company formed, developing kick murder squads. Systematic murders of union leaders and generals were carried out in an attempt to protect the lucrative worldwide replicant market.

These murders in turn led congress to pass OWLA or the Off World Legislative Act banning replicants from earth for good._________________Hollywood is the only industry, even taking in soup companies, which does not have laboratories for the purpose of experimentation.
Orson Welles

Nice idea, i like it cause it would give a good look into the nitty gritty of the real BR world, the politics of the time, whats driving the chaos.
In the original, Bryant reveals the kick murder squad to us, which would mean the cops are at the very least aware of them, perhaps even "renting" them to Tyrell to do the hits you outlined in your idea.

The story set up at the top of the original tells us that there are multiple colonies and multiple Blade Runner units so the story could span a mind boggling area on earth and beyond that is all fresh fodder for writers.

Im still thinking the new film wont be based on Earth but i have started thinking about maybe an agency above the Blade Runner Units. Using the way things work today, the Feds wouldnt be happy with what are basically local policemen doing such critical and State sensitive work, especally if some of those very members are replicants themselves. Unless they have even more important issues to deal with, better toys to play with.
Bare in mind that i am working stricly off what background the three cuts of the movie have given us, i dont buy in to potntial PHD`s and manufactured backstorys and plausible spinoffs COUGH....GEORGE LUCAS_________________Formerly offworld66

Look at what Westwood Studios did with the Blade Runner universe. I'm sure that Ridley has it under control . Sure the Tyrell Corp can get away with planting another Nexus-7 in Deckard's apartment, just change the photo on the piano and the Voice print ID (hell... the new Rep-Detect might even look like Angelina jolie)

McCoy was only a replicant depending on which clues you did/didn't find, and which ending you chose. Much like the film it was ambiguous. Or rather which version of the film you're watching._________________

I don't want to see anything directly related to the events and characters in BR. Simply put a new story in that verse with new themes and characters, preferably PKD inspired. That is to say, OK Tyrell Corp presence is there but let's not go down the replicant road again as the focus of the story. Frank Miller's Sin City comics is a good example. The stories stand on their own, unique but overlap in that verse.

Also, what are they going to do? Update the BR 2019 tech to impress modern audiences or leave CRTs and nobody has a cell phone in 2019?

Maybe the pollution/solar flares are so bad that no cell phone com is possible? Reps are here to stay as well at Tyrell Corp...now it's up to the writer to come up with a follow-up story on that one.
The base is there, now it's the variation on a theme and hopefully it'll be good